


Knights of the Emotional Spectrum

by myscribblings



Category: Green Lantern (Comics), Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic (Video Game)
Genre: AU, Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-20
Updated: 2020-04-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:56:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 5,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22338112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myscribblings/pseuds/myscribblings
Summary: The galaxy changes when a strange set of rings travel through time and space to find new wielders.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 6





	1. Courage

**Author's Note:**

> [Knights of the Emotional Spectrum art](https://www.deviantart.com/swtorramblings/art/Emotional-Spectrum-SWTOR-776848695)
> 
> I'm starting to clean this up finally. First thing is that I'm putting the origin chapters in the order they actually occur. Originally, I put them in ROYGBIV order, which was cute and all but doesn't make sense now that I'm trying to pull the whole thing together. There are also missing chapters between origins and the like, and once those are filled in it will be continued.
> 
> There are some of the rings that break from the Green Lantern canon. They are in a new galaxy, far from the sources of their power, and don't all work by the same rules.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A member of the Green Lantern Corp, tracking the other rings, falls, and a new wielder is chosen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Theron’s Oath:
> 
> Light Side? Dark Side? I’m the one with the ring.  
> What? Fine. Blasted lantern.  
> I have sought and will always seek the truth,  
> And I shall expose the false to the light,  
> The light of the Green Lantern.

They had come to this strange galaxy in pursuit of the Yellow, hoping to find and destroy it before it could claim a wielder. And then these monsters had attacked them, with blades and lightning and rage, rage enough for the Red. They fought with distinction, but there were too many, and too powerful, and they fell. The community knew it would die. They looked up, and saw a human, no powers, no ring, attempting to protect them. It was impossible.

The last thought of the community before it dissolved was, “Yes, this one will do.”


	2. Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Violet finds its wielder in a man drained of hate.
> 
> Arcann’s Oath:
> 
> To hatred deep was I enslaved.  
> By mother’s love have I been saved.  
> Now worlds that suffer rage’s bite  
> I will defend with violet light!

He sat, alone in the dark, contemplating his life. So much of it filled with blind rage. He had been manipulated by a monster, convinced of the importance of petty things, and it had nearly destroyed him. And then, all of that had been ripped away.

Now, he was incomplete. Rage, though his had been destructive, was a natural part of life, and he had none left. He wondered idly if he would resent this if he could. He hoped not. It had given him this chance, allowed him to seek atonement. 

And other feelings had filled that void. He had been clumsy in their expression. He had only ever learned to be a weapon, and that colored everything he did, even now. But he was learning, slowly, steadily. He was broken, but he would heal and become someone new.

The ring had been watching, evaluating. It didn’t see him as broken. He would be its perfect bearer, and it would help him heal. If that meant that, some day, they would part, well, that was a kind of love, too. For now, though, they belonged together.


	3. Fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ring of the Sinestro Corp, sent to find the greatest source of fear in the galaxy, finds a wielder on Nathema, herself being tormented to escape what most terrifies her.
> 
> Vaylin’s Oath, which she performs in private, for she would never admit to anyone that the fear she spreads is her own.
> 
> I shall give my fear to others  
> For I have much to share  
> With my new pretty.

She cried out for help. Something she had sworn she would never do again when her mother turned away. It was too much. The pain, the powerlessness. Caged again, on the world that was her worst nightmare.

The ring considered. It had sought out the greatest source of fear in this new universe, and it was her. How was it possible? She was so filled with fear, how could she be the cause of so much in others?

No. She would not die on this world. She would destroy Father’s sickness. Then she would destroy him. She was not afraid to die, and if she had to, she would die free.

She had transformed the blind panic into power. She lashed out, smashing the equipment that held her. How, it had no idea. All it knew was it had been wrong. She was perfect.

As she recovered, she felt the weight on her hand. The weight of the ring, the weight of its power. Fueled by fear, and she would happily feed it. She laughed as she crashed through the ceiling, barely remembering to recall her Knights to the ships.

She thought it was her hate that drove her. That the ring was being powered by her captors as she obliterated the Sanitarium. She did not need their fear to give her power, she had enough. But perhaps it was for the best that she not learn the truth.

She no longer needed her fleet, her Knights, her old toys. She sent them all away. She would level the Alliance herself, with her new pretty.

It would be glorious.


	4. Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not even the dead are safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Art reference: [Black Lantern Thexan](https://www.deviantart.com/swtorramblings/art/Black-Lantern-Thexan-827760414)
> 
> Thexan’s Oath:
> 
> The time has come to end the blight  
> Of fecund life, of blinding light.  
> When my life’s bonds are in my sight  
> I’ll end their pain in Darkest Night.

It had followed, seeking its prey, and found itself empowered. It could sense how life was connected here, and so, likewise, was death. More, it was corrupt, damaged. A decay that lead not to renewal, but to madness and destruction.

It was perfect.

It knew its enemies were many, that it would need an edge to snuff out their light. It selected its host for that purpose, to break their spirit before it would take their hearts. 

The slash closed, covered by necrotic flesh. His blood pumped, driven by the power of this ring rather than his heart. His mind awoke, awash in the Dark Side. As he crawled from his tomb, he smiled.


	5. Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Blue finds its wielder as she overcomes despair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “I will not leave my children to the dark.”
> 
> Senya’s Oath:
> 
> In a galaxy filled with darkness and war  
> I struggle to help our spirits to soar.  
> As Scyva’s tears soothe our hate  
> Let Hope appear to oppose fate.

She woke suddenly, shouting in her despair. It was over. She was broken. In her struggle to be free, she had destroyed herself. All they could do now was end the threat, there was nothing there to be saved.

She began to weep, then stopped.

No. It would not stand. She would not give up. She had saved Arcann at great cost, when others thought it was impossible. She would fight for Vaylin until the end, whatever the end was. She took up her weapon and prepared for what would come.

Somehow unnoticed, a small sphere of blue light followed her into the sun.


	6. Dark Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arcann feels a call and, using the power of the Violet Ring, flies to the place he most dreads: Nathema.

He had been drawn here, abandoning his duty to the Alliance, to the Commander. To his mother, who he felt had awoken alone. He couldn’t have explained, and he couldn’t help himself. He arrived just in time to see his sister’s fleet leaving. Even from millions of kilometers away, he could feel her presence. Her pain, which he was accustomed to. Her fear, which he had rarely felt. Then, it suddenly stopped, replaced with, what? Something more than the freedom she had sought, surely.

He knew where she would go. He could feel her power, the fear it caused in her loyal Knights. He could not help until he was done here, though.

He looked at the world where she had been broken, twice now. The world his father had murdered, so long ago.

He finally understood what had brought him here, and thought it was only appropriate this was there they would meet.

Nathema. Even the name made him ill.

He lowered himself through the tainted atmosphere. The world itself resisted his intrusion. He could feel it clawing at him, at the tears in his mind, trying to push its way in, return him to what he had been. It could not find purchase, not anymore. His wounds were not healed, but the emptiness had already been filled. He focused on that.

He landed at the Sanitarium, or rather, the crater that occupied its former place. He nodded in some satisfaction. Perhaps he would have shown them mercy, in fact, he was sure of it, but some part of him was just as sure they had not deserved what Vaylin had done here. He saw the soft, yellowish glow, felt the presence of his sister. He looked at the ring on his hand, and could guess what had happened. That was the moment he almost fled, knowing that the Alliance could fall against such power, but before he could act he heard his own voice, though twisted and crackling.

“My brother,” it said. “My killer.”

He didn’t turn, not yet. He did not think he could stand the sight. “Hello, Thexan.”

There was a chuckle. “Come, Brother, turn around, let us embrace.”

Arcann looked, saw that awful grin. Felt the aura of darkness around him, as little as that made sense. He made no other move. “I felt your call. I did not know it was you, but I came. What is it you wish?”

“To have you join me, of course.”

“I’m sorry for what I did, Thexan, and I hoped you would forgive me if you could, but that is too high a price.”

“And you pretend to represent love.” Thexan made a clicking noise, deep in his throat. A noise of disapproval. “But you would need a heart for that!”

He lunged at Arcann, a weapon forming in his hand, a sword formed from darkness. Arcann reacted, forming a shield of violet, deflecting the first blow. Thexan struck at him again, and again, each blow doubling in strength, and he laughed as the shield exploded, as his brother was flung back.

He was shouting as he closed the distance. “Do you really think you can stand against me?” Another shield created just in time, but destroyed just as quickly. “The living so seldom truly know love, but all eventually know death!”

Death. The ring was death. Arcann could sense it now. He could not win, not here. He did not know that he would want to. All he felt was love, and pity, and regret. He saw again his brother’s face as their hands clasped, one last time. Tears streamed down his face.

And then all he felt was almost unbearable pain, as a bony hand entered his chest, grasped his heart.

Thexan leaned forward, whispering into his ear, “I was always your better. Only at the height of your rage could you strike me down, and that is gone now.”

He saw his life. His mistakes. His anger and hurt. He was about to give up, he knew he deserved this for all he’d done.

Then, he saw the face of the Commander, and knew it was too soon.

Instinctively, Arcann grabbed Thexan’s wrist, held it in place. “I will not strike you again, Brother. But I will also not die here. Not like this. Not in this place. Not by your hand.”

The words seemed to echo in the pit they struggled in, though it was not his voice that came back. Crystals of violet formed over Thexan’s arm, across Arcann’s chest, protecting his heart. He pulled the hand free, the injury closing behind it. The healing took much of his strength, but it was sufficient.

As the crystals crawled over him, Thexan rotting lips parted in that smile again. “You know this will not stop me. I will find you.”

“I know, Brother.”

The chrysalis was complete. It would not last. Arcann understood its purpose, but it could not change the dead.

“I’m sorry.”

With that, he flew into the sky, opening a portal to return him to Odessen. He did not know what he would do the next time they met, but he knew he had to warn them, and possibly say his goodbyes.

* * *

Darkness swirled into the lone figure, cracking and darkening the shining crystals. Soon, they exploded outward, and the thing Thexan had become laughed.


	7. That's No Sun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vaylin has reached Odessen before the Commander, and Koth, Theron, and Sana-Rae lead the forces of the Alliance against her, unbound and with the extra power of a mysterious yellow ring. What can stop her now?

Koth sometimes got up before dawn to work on the Gravestone. The crew didn’t like early mornings, so it was quiet, and sometimes he wanted some time alone. He’d been in the military most of his adult life, so that was a bit of a luxury. This morning, he was giving the bridge a thorough inspection.

He must have lost track of time. As he pulled himself from under the consoles, through the windows, he saw that the horizon was becoming tinged with yellow. He smiled and decided to take a break and greet the sun on the landing platform. He got to his feet, yawned, stretched, and began to head outside when he saw it. The chronometer on the wall.

It was still at least an hour until dawn.

He grabbed a pair of macrobinoculars as he raced outside. Looking into the light, he quickly found the source, and all the blood drained from his face. He hit his communicator. “Theron!”

He came back quickly. Probably couldn’t sleep, either. “What is it, Koth?”

“We’ve got a problem!”

* * *

She had flown from Nathema to Odessen faster than any hyperdrive, smashed orbital defenses, plummeted down through the atmosphere. She reached the base in moments, knowing there was nothing they could do to stop her. The defensive weaponry turned to try to fire on her, but she was too small and much too maneuverable, and she sliced it from the base and sent it crashing into the mountain.

She came to a landing next to the Gravestone and was immediately confronted by troops.

And Koth. She was going to enjoy this.

He shouted, “All right, Vaylin, that’s enough. I don’t know how you did that but…”

She smiled and held up the ring for all to see. “Oh, I’ve got a new pretty to make up for what you took from me.”

“You expect me to believe that some cheap jewelry is letting you do all this?”

“I was hoping for more of a challenge, with my unbound power and the ring, you are all nothing.”

“Perhaps we will do, then, Empress.”

Vaylin looked past the soldiers in front of her. Stepping from the Alliance base was a tall woman, a Voss. She seemed almost serene in the face of certain doom. Vaylin did not like that. “I know Koth, here, I hunted him long enough. Who are you?”

“My name is Sana-Rae, but really, that is unimportant. I have foreseen your coming, and have prepared.”

Vaylin’s eyebrow lifted. “Oh, a prophet. Arcann was right about one thing, anyway, the galaxy would be better off without you. How could you possibly prepare for me?”

“I have my ways.”

With that, lightsabers, dozens of them, burst to light in the dimness behind her. Red, blue, green, gold. More. Representing Sith, Jedi, Zakuul, smaller traditions from all over the galaxy. All bound together, learning from each other, and united solely against her. They surged forward with a shout. Simultaneously, the soldiers opened fire.

Vaylin grinned. Finally, a challenge. She used her ring to conjure a pair of lightsabers of her own and also charged.

* * *

Theron had arrived as well, but held back. Sweat was beginning to bead on his forehead as he concentrated. His own ring would not let him act openly, so all he could do was use its power in short bursts to protect the Alliance from the worst of her attacks. Sana-Rae had told him not to worry, but he didn’t know how long he could keep this up before Vaylin had killed them all.

He had to wonder, was her ring really more powerful than his? It seemed to hear that and said, “No, Green Lantern of sector (error error error), she simply has more to fuel it.”

An answer that was no answer at all, or at least not one that offered a solution. Still, he would push himself as long as he could.

Then, suddenly, the tenor of the entire battle changed.

* * *

Senya emerged onto the platform to see the carnage, her only daughter in the center of it. She walked into the fray, avoiding lightsabers and lightning, having only one goal. Her own lightsaber remained at her waist. She knew that if she needed it now, it was over, anyway.

When she was close enough, she filled her lungs and shouted, “Stop!”

Amazingly, the combatants heard, and hesitated.

She glimpsed Sana-Rae. She seemed to have smiled, just for a moment, and turned away.

Vaylin turned to face her, panting, sweating, exhilarated. Senya saw the destroyed planetary defense weapon, the injured, or worse. She could have leveled the base, Senya was sure of it, though she wasn’t sure how she knew. Instead, she had wanted to test herself. Her pride was always a weakness. Now, though, Senya wondered if it was misplaced.

“Mother, it is so good to see you. Are you here to sacrifice yourself for them? You know that won’t work.”

“No, Daughter, but you have to stop. Please.”

“And why would I do that?”

“Because you are better than this, and if you aren’t, you still can be.”

“This again? You have no right. If you had just stayed, perhaps. But you are wrong, just like always. And you will learn to fear me.”

Another voice rumbled, “No, Sister. We aren’t afraid of you, only for you.”

Where he had come from, no one could say, but if Vaylin was startled, it passed quickly. “Brother. Good, now I have almost a full set.”

“Sister, please, we don’t want to fight you.”

“Why not? Do you think it will make your execution painless?”

“Don’t you understand? Can’t you feel it?”

Vaylin rolled her eyes as the two stepped slowly closer. “Feel what?”

Arcann replied, “We love you.”

Senya continued, “And we won’t give up on you.”

Vaylin sneered at them, backing away. “You already did. You will again.”

“Never,” they said together.

Senya reached for her daughter. “Please. Come back with us.”

Vaylin hesitated, knowing not to believe this. Hadn’t they each betrayed her enough already? Or was there hope of something better?

Suddenly, the Commander’s ship arrived, weapons ready. Koth had been gathering up the troops and students, getting the injured to safety, but now he gestured for the still able to prepare for another fight.

Lord Bak’kus and Lana Beniko jumped down from the waiting ship and landed with lightsabers drawn. Bak’kus spoke first. “Senya?”

“Commander, it’s all right. Everything is fine.”

Vaylin laughed, then shouted, “No, Mother, it isn’t. It never will be. No matter what you do. No matter what any of us do!”

“Please, Sister.”

“No! You did something to me. I know it. I won’t let you change me!”

Senya turned back, “We didn’t. We just told you how we feel.”

“No. There was more. But we are done here for now.”

Lana said to that, “You don’t actually believe we’ll let you leave?”

“As if you had a choice.”

There was a dazzling burst of light, knocking them all off their feet and blinding them momentarily. All that was left of Vaylin was a slowly fading trail of yellow light.


	8. Avarice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Orange did not travel, did not seek. It was taken.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I have always loved the stars."
> 
> Valkorion’s Oath:
> 
> I shall claim what is mine, at last, and what is mine is all.

He had felt the changes in his galaxy, the invasion of it. As he watched his daughter fly from the battle, robbing him of her power, he knew the source. He smiled to himself, recognizing that as one opportunity fled, another had appeared.

He reached out, tracking the yellow light back to its origins, and then following the other pull he had felt. 

“No, it’s mine! Mine! You can’t have it!” the creature screamed as he approached.

“Did you think yourself worthy of it? No. You were merely a custodian, and now the true master is here.”

His spirit entered the lantern. The former bearer, Larfleeze it seemed, screamed as his mind and body were obliterated, only to be reshaped into a form the Emperor found more appealing. His plans would required a body, after all.

He lifted the great Lantern, the only one of its kind, and vanished, returning home.


	9. Compassion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Indigo finds its wielder, though he refuses to let it change him as it would have.
> 
> Koth’s Oath:
> 
> You get that this feels weird, right? I never…  
> Yeah, symbolism, fine.  
> In a universe that does not care  
> We must care for each other.  
> Even Nahut must receive our light.  
> The light of Indigo.  
> This is so embarrassing.

After getting the reports, Koth stalked angrily back to his rooms before he said something he might regret. It had been a miracle that none of the Alliance forces had been killed in Vaylin’s attack, but there were numerous injuries. She was more terrifying than ever, and Senya and Arcann, who had both pledged to end her threat, refused to fight. They showed up when it was almost too late and just talked to her. Told her they loved her. That maniac.

And maybe he shouldn’t be surprised by that, but where the hell had Theron been? He’d only turned up when the fighting was over, without any explanation.

Theron he would be talking to, but the strangest thing was, it had worked. A bit. She was still out there, still a threat to everything he cared about, and they were going to have to deal with her eventually. But she had backed down. He never thought he would see such a thing.

Why? How had they gotten through to her, even briefly? She insisted they had influenced her in some way, maybe some form of control like what Bak’kus had used against her. They both insisted that it wasn’t true, and he believed them.

So, what? She hated her family, and Koth had never wondered about that. She was a monster that wanted nothing but power for herself, he had always assumed she just didn’t want to share. After the battle, the Commander had seemed somber. Lana was as tight-lipped as always, keeping her opinions to herself. They had just returned from Nathema, an attempt to stop Vaylin from carrying out some task of her own. Obviously, they had failed, so of course they would be angry, but Bak’kus had, just for a moment, seemed to Koth to actually be sad, as well.

Angry, too, but not at Vaylin.

They had provided reports of the mission. Koth had never been interested in the stories of the Eternal Emperor’s family. All of them, he thought, were trash. Between them, since his defection, they had killed enough innocents, enough of his friends. Still, while he had the chance, he decided it was time to learn more.  
—  
He shut off the holo, leaving himself in the dark. He couldn’t look at Jarak’s face any longer.

He needed a drink.

It wouldn’t help.

Everything he’d known was wrong. However monstrous the children were, it was the father who was responsible. Now when he thought about them, he could only see the eyes of that child, the day he holstered his weapons and walked away.

She might still have to die. Ultimately, Arcann might also. But if Koth had any say in it, it would be with as little pain as possible. They’d had enough, especially her.

He heard it then, whispering an offer. Power, but at the cost of any feeling but this. There was, of course, only one possible answer.

“Oh, hell no.”

The ring hovered for a moment, seeming to consider, before making its judgement. The people here were different, and it was one. And his feeling was strong. He was acceptable.


	10. Rage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You Knights, you’re never taught to properly channel your anger.”
> 
> Lana’s Oath:
> 
> Rage heats my blood and gives me power.  
> So from it I shall never cower.  
> But rage alone does not give victory,  
> It will not chain me, I shall be free.

She couldn’t believe what an idiot she’d been. How could she have trusted him? Now, everything they’d work towards was at risk. When she found him, she wouldn’t use the lightsaber. She wanted to see him bleed.

She felt the presence, its weight on her hand. Feeding her rage, filling her with it. As she breathed, a red mist emerged, burning the very air around her. She held up her hand, looked at the ring, and smiled.

“You probably thought you would be the master, didn’t you?”


	11. Fear and Greed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vaylin flies to the Eternal Throne to confront the reconstituted Valkorion.

He sensed her approach. All was proceeding as he wished. Very soon, she would once again be what she should have been, what she was made to be. His dutiful daughter.

The ceiling exploded, raining shards of glass and molten metal down on the Eternal Throne. He smiled up at her. He might even be able to trick the ignorant into thinking him kind, even indulgent. She knew better.

He faced her, his hands clasped behind his back. He would enjoy this.

“Father!”

“Vaylin. It is good of you to visit. But there was no need for this.”

She hovered, glowing with her new power, snarling at him like the beast she was. Thinking that even that could intimidate him. He would enjoy disabusing her of that notion. “How are you alive? In your own body? How?!”

“Does it matter?”

She flew closer. He could see her jaw tense. She thought she hated him, but he knew the truth. “Yes! I need to make sure that after I destroy you, you don’t return!”

“So, you believe you can?”

She returned his smile, though hers was vicious instead of bland. She lifted her hand, showed him the ring. “You feared me before. You will be even more afraid now.”

Lightning streaked from the ring. How predictable. Still, it was a powerful blast and might have once harmed him. He raised his hands, revealing his own ring to her at last, surrounding himself with its orange energy. “No, Daughter, I won’t.”

That made her hesitate, but then she redoubled her attack. He rose toward her, trading blasts of lightning. She avoided his, but he simply absorbed hers, strengthening himself.

Finally, she grew tired, lowered herself to the ground. He knew she would not flee. It made her defeat inevitable, that she could not let herself retreat from him. Not this time.

He smiled down at her again. “You see? It was pointless. All of it. Now, I will give your life meaning at last.”

“How? How is this possible?”

“Can you not sense it? Did you even try? The source of your new power is far, universes away, and shared by many. Mine?” He gestured, and the great battery appeared. “It is here, and it is mine alone.”

He gestured again, generating a dozen Knights of orange energy, then doubled them, then doubled them again. They marched to his grounded daughter. She glared at them, at bay, but having no strength left to fight or flee. “But, why? What do you need with Zakuul when you have power like this? Or with me?”

He chuckled. “Oh, Vaylin, I do not need Zakuul, or you, or my ‘family’.” Then his face and tone became stern. “But you are mine!”

* * *

As the Knights closed in on her, Vaylin had a flash of insight. What was about to happen. What had happened to them. 

He had hollowed them out, his most devoted followers. Made them into these husks, pure extensions of his will. And he meant to do the same to her. She couldn’t stop it. She would be a mindless thing, forever enslaved to the Eternal Emperor.

There was little she feared, not even death. Perhaps she would simply be gone, at peace. Or, maybe, she would be there still, watching helplessly from a cage in her own mind. She couldn’t stand even the thought of it.

The Knights surrounded her where she knelt, paralyzed by fear.

* * *

She was finally, truly broken. There had always been that wall, that little bit of her he could not touch, hidden behind her eyes. Perhaps it was the child she was, perhaps who she might have been, or what she wished to be. All laid bare and vulnerable.

She curled in on herself, whimpering. Soon, she would finally be his to command once again.

He realized his mistake almost too late.

She rose into the air and screamed, a scream of terror almost beyond human endurance. Her ring transformed her fear, and it poured from her in waves of yellow light, obliterating his Knights, causing his own shields to nearly buckle, vaporizing the throne room. He was barely able to protect the Throne and the Lantern from her power.

Finally, the torrent abated. She gasped, looked at what she had done. Perhaps she could have finished him in that moment, but what had given her such power also only allowed her one choice.

She fled.

Valkorion simply watched her dwindling form. He went to the Throne and commanded the Fleet to let her be. If she were to be cornered, in this state, she would destroy whatever threatened her.

He walked to the great Lantern. It had a web of fine cracks covering it, now. She had damaged what was his, and she would pay for it.

* * *

Elsewhere, a ring flashed indigo, and spoke one word. “Fear.”


	12. Hate and Bravery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Vaylin confronts Valkorion, Lana hunts a traitor to the Alliance.

She flew through the void of space, unprotected by anything but her new power, faster than any known hyperdrive, grinning to herself. There would have to be research, of course. She would know the ring’s origins, who created it, how it came to be here. For now, however, she had a task to accomplish, and with the ring, it would be easy.

* * *

Yet another conspiracy. The same old destructive cycle. The Alliance and its Commander had made many enemies over time, and with the failure to end the threat of Zakuul, those enemies had acted. He had heard the mutterings of it just in time.

It had hurt to conceal this from his friends and allies, but with Valkorion still possessing the Commander, Theron had realized he couldn’t trust them with what he was doing. Even now, he wasn’t sure they could be fully trusted, and it was too late to contact them, anyway.

He was going to regret that, he knew. And, as his ship’s hull was ripped open in a flash of red, he realized it would be sooner than expected.

* * *

She flew in through the gaping hole, shielding her prey from vacuum, keeping him alive. For now. She wanted to see the look on the traitor’s face as she decided how to finish him. She had never been one to toy with an enemy, but he had gone too far, and anyway, what could he do against her now?

She pinned his hands to the wall and floated to him, exhaling her corrosive mist through gritted teeth. “Theron.”

“Lana. It’s not what you think.”

She pointed the ring at him, and multiple red bladed constructs circled his neck. “You betrayed us. It’s time that you paid.”

His eyes fixed on her ring, and there was momentary surprise, but then he sighed and said, “Of course there would be a third one.”

She barely had time to register what he had said when there was a flash of green, engulfing and shattering her blades. As her vision cleared, Theron stepped towards her in glowing, robotic armor.

He lashed out with his construct’s massive fist, hoping to end the fight quickly but mainly just trying desperately to survive it. She was so angry, and that might have given him an advantage with anyone else, but not Lana. He doubted he could win against her. The rings had changed the rules, but not that much.

He pulled back a stump. Yeah, that went as well as expected. As he repaired the armor, he was saying, “Come on, Lana, what happened to we fight together…”

She interrupted with, “We die together? After you joined our enemy? Another one, when we already have too many?”

This time, she didn’t bother with another construct. With a shout, she blasted his armor with pure energy, battering his defenses, turning his armor into glowing green dust that then faded away. He returned the blast, the green and red light meeting between them. 

Their power was balanced, in spite of her will, in spite of her rage. She didn’t know what powered his ring, but whatever it was, he had an abundance of it. The clash of energies was almost deafening.

She thought absently, why could she hear that, anyway? How could they hear each other?

Suddenly, the green almost disappeared, except for a field he kept around himself. Her blast narrowly missed him, almost cutting his ship in half as she pivoted to try to catch him as he darted about. 

He escaped the debris field and space around her turned green. Before she could react, she found him compressing his hastily constructed sphere, dragging the remains with it, fusing it into a crushing prison.

It was only moments before lightsaber-like blades pierced the shell, but they were moments too long. Several fading trails of green energy led from here, covering Theron’s escape.


	13. Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [Teeseven art](https://www.deviantart.com/swtorramblings/art/Teesever-White-Lantern-836836544)
> 
> Teeseven’s oath:
> 
> T7 = has never wanted to fight//T7 = will though when the cause is right//Evil = has brought to life unending plight//T7 + Friends = will resist with spectrum’s light.

He had often thought on his role in the galaxy, in its constant wars. He wasn’t “alive” according to the most common wisdom. He would never be connected in the web the Jedi called the Force. But he was protective, nurturing, trying to promote, as best he could, life. He wanted his friends, and even his enemies, to thrive. To LIVE. Even when he didn’t understand what that meant.

And then, a voice of sorts, more a stream of data that he understood, said to him, “You do understand, for you live.”

The ring alighted on his extended manipulator, and he hid it away, beeping excitedly. He was weeping with joy, though there were no tears.


End file.
